Associate Data Architect

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.

The Team

The role sits in the Data Governance & Architecture team, whose mission is to maximise the potential to create value from our data by engaging the business to make continuous improvements to the quality, reliability and usability of the data that we create within, and bring into, the FT, in order that it meets the FT’s current and future needs. This team sits within a broader Data & Analytics function, also responsible for Data Science, BI, Data Strategy, Insight and Analytics.

The Role

This is a new role within the expanding Data Architecture team at the FT (reporting to our Data Architect), placed within the wider Data Governance & Architecture team that forms part of the FT’s Data and Analytics department. The successful applicant will work across all teams with responsibility for producing and/or consuming data, including, but not limited to, Product & Technology, Commercial and Editorial.

They will:

• Support the development and maintenance of an understanding of the flow of data between teams, processes and systems, working closely with existing roles within the broader Data Governance & Architecture team.
• Help review existing data models, schemas, taxonomies, standards etc and assess ways in which to enhance, simplify, and scale them, aligned to a set of principles/blueprint defined by senior team members.
• Build strong working relationships with Technical Architecture and engineering roles within our Technology team, as well as with teams across Data & Analytics.
• Engage, influence, and collaborate effectively with a wide range of commercial stakeholders, understanding the needs of the business and be proficient in articulating how effective Data Architecture underpins our commercial strategy.

This role is increasingly important as the FT diversifies its products and grows the number of data consumers across the business, as we move at pace towards the democratisation of our data. To support this, we need a sharp focus on enabling the reuse of data created/ingested in one product/process by others, improving the consistency and understandability of our data, and helping teams adopt better practices with minimal friction. The role-holder will have a unique opportunity to learn the FT’s data ecosystem end-to-end, while directly improving how teams collaborate around data.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate business needs into clear, actionable data requirements, aligned with architectural principles, by identifying data complexity/inconsistency and proposing pragmatic improvements that balance near-term benefits with long-term strategy.
• Support delivery of data architecture work by assisting with discovery, analysis and documentation of current state data flows, models and definitions.
• Contribute to the evolution of the FT’s data architecture by maintaining artefacts (e.g. diagrams, definitions, mappings), providing input into the development of architectural principles and standards, and supporting roadmap activities led by senior team members.
• Play a role, along with others in Data Governance, in helping people across the FT understand what data we have, how it flows through the business, and how it should be managed on an ongoing basis.
• Support impact tracing activities by helping teams identify upstream/downstream impacts of system and/or process changes, and ensuring these are surfaced early and documented clearly.
• Effectively document data architecture requirements and flows for multiple audiences, presenting findings clearly and confidently in workshops and stakeholder forums, to articulate its direct impact and inform adjacent initiatives across Commercial and Engineering work.
• Build effective working relationships with data owners, engineering teams, technical architects, product teams, external suppliers and stakeholders, supporting collaboration and follow-through.

Person Requirements

• A proven interest in data and how it creates value for an organisation, with experience translating business questions into structured data requirements, definitions or documentation.
• Proven stakeholder management skills - able to work effectively across a breadth of stakeholders (e.g. Product & Technology, Commercial and Editorial) who possess varying levels of relevant understanding and technical expertise.
• Strong communication and people skills: you must be articulate, persuasive, and able to present clearly, explain data concepts to diverse audiences, and portray the big picture.
• Having a very pragmatic focus is essential, and must have had experience in enabling short benefits whilst at the same time, setting a vision and helping steer the business towards it.
• Curiosity and tenacity to investigate data across multiple disciplines, joining dots across processes and systems to understand what is happening and why.
• An understanding of the system development life cycle and how delivery teams work, to support realistic planning and effective collaboration.
• Experience contributing to data models that mirror a business domain, producing or maintaining diagrams representing key data entities and their relationships, and supporting the definition of standards, taxonomies, or reference data conventions.

What’s in it for you? Our benefits

Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here.

We’ve embraced a 50% hybrid working model (averaging two to three days onsite) that fosters trust and remote adaptability while encouraging in-person camaraderie and peer learning. Additionally, we are open to accommodating specific flexible working pattern requests for all roles where feasible.

Accessibility

We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Further information

At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all.